Introduction:
Starkey is a hearing aid manufacturer.
History of Starkey:
Starkey had its beginnings in 1967 when William Austin started Professional Hearing Service, a hearing instrument repair service, in St Louis Park, Minnesota. A few years later, Austin bought an earmold company, Starkey Laboratories. The new company became Starkey.
From there Starkey just kept growing. It moved into the development of custom hearing aids, went international, produced canal hearing aids, then programmable hearing aids, followed by digital hearing aids and open fit hearing aids.
Starkey's Other Work:
Starkey also has the Starkey Hearing Foundation that donates hearing aids to people internationally. Starkey has an affiliated program, HearNow, for people who can not afford to buy hearing aids, and the company allows people to pay for hearing aids with the CareCredit healthcare credit card. Then there is the Starkey Hearing Alliance Network, which is an alliance of hearing professionals with Starkey. Finally, there is the Starkey Hearing Research Center, where hearing scientists research hearing loss and technology.
Starkey's Website Highlights:
Starkey's website has general information on hearing loss, including a hearing loss simulator that simulates voices and environments. In addition, Starkey offers advice on the use and care of hearing aids. There are captioned videos that explain care of your hearing aids, and a battery life expectancy chart. A "Find a Professional" feature quickly locates a Starkey professional, and has a PDF of questions consumers can ask their hearing professionals. These are general questions that can be used with any hearing healthcare professional, not just Starkey hearing professionals.
